


Kindness to Strangers

by kuro1neko2kun



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec has a home guys, M/M, Mistaken Identity, The real reason Alec is always glamoured around mundanes, awkward mundane encounters, because Matt looks like a hobo all the time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-06-02 22:52:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6585856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro1neko2kun/pseuds/kuro1neko2kun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Alec was mistaken for a hobo and one time it was someone else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 5

5\.   
The first time it happened, Alec was just waiting for their takeout order to finish. Izzy had tried to cook again and…well. Long story short, the Institute's kitchen ceiling would never be the same. The pizza place was busy, so he'd sat on a bench outside, hands in his pockets to ward off the chill in the air. He hunched his shoulders, glancing into the pizza place to try and see if their food was done.

"Are you alright?" A girl in a long jacket with bright green hair was looking down at him with concern.

"Um…" Alec looked around to see if there was anyone else out here she might be talking to.

"Here, get yourself something warm to eat." She handed him a five dollar bill and walked, off, leaving him staring after her in confusion. 

Why…?

 

4.  
The second time was a little less entertaining.

Stakeouts were the least entertaining missions. Alec yawned, leaning back against the cement wall of the building behind him. At least he'd remembered to bring a blanket to sit on this time. He glanced across the street. No sign of demon activity yet, but it was still pretty early in the night.

Why was he the one sitting out in the cold again?

Oh right. Jace had thrown a tantrum and Izzy had outright refused. He tugged at the sleeve of his sweater.

"Hey there." 

Alec ignored the man, focusing on the door across from him.

"Hey you!" Legs obscured his view of the street, and he looked up in surprise. He had his glamour on, right…? "You can't sleep here."

"What-" 

"You can't sleep here, man. There's a shelter down on Kenmare that's open twenty four seven if you have no where to go." An elderly man in a suit crouched down in front of him, clearly looking straight at Alec.

"I'm not-"

"The street's no place for a kid to sleep, especially in this area. Now get going before I have to call the cops on you, this is a no loitering zone."

Alec was unceremoniously hastened to his feet and given directions to the Bowery, a homeless shelter that, as the man assured him, would take him in, no questions asked. The man continued watching, and he had no choice but to start walking, stuffing the blanket he'd been sitting on into a duffel bag. 

He turned a corner with a glance behind him, and paused to check his glamour rune. 

Well, that was embarrassing.

Good thing Jace and Izzy weren't around.

 

3.  
The third time, and Alec was starting to see a trend. He wasn't even alone this time, leaning against a wall as he waited for Izzy to finish in the lingerie store. A little girl stopped in front of him and gestured, her parents nowhere in sight.

"Are you okay, mister?" Alec crouched down to her level, and was surprised at her concerned gaze. "Do you need some money?"

"I-" He wasn't quite sure what to say. Thankfully, a woman he could only assume was the girl's mother rushed in.

"Cordelia!" The girl was scooped up into the woman's arms. "What have I told you about wandering off and talking to strangers?" She turned to him, shifting Cordelia onto her hip. "I'm so sorry if she bothered you… here." She reached into her purse and pulled out a few crumpled dollar bills. "I hope you have a good day."

She then rushed off, leaving Alec crouched on the ground clutching the dollar bills.

"Making friends?" Isabelle's voice was filled with amusement from behind him.

"I didn't-"

"I told you this morning before we left that you looked like a hobo." Alec turned, rising from his crouch with a frown.

"I do not look like a hobo."

"Alec. That woman and her daughter gave you money because they thought you were a hobo." She snickered at his puzzled look, taking the money from his hands. "How about we give this to an actual hobo and then get back to shopping. Maybe we can get you some new clothes so that you stop getting mistaken for a homeless person."

"My clothes are fine." Alec muttered petulantly under his breath as he followed Izzy down the street.

 

2.  
The fourth time, Alec was just minding his own business. So maybe he hadn't had the time or inclination to shave in a couple days, and maybe he was wearing his oldest and most comfortable sweater with the holes. He'd had a rough week. He was just waiting for the subway so that he could finally go visit Magnus's loft, which was all he'd wanted to do all week, when it happened.

A kid wearing his pants down by his knees, with a skateboard under his arm had sidled up to him on the platform, but Alec paid him no notice, focused on the end of the tunnel as he tried to catch sight of the next train.

"Hey man, you want a slice?" 

"A slice of what?" Alec looked over, startled.

"Of pizza."

"Why on earth are you offering me your food?"

"You looked hungry man. I know what it's like, I was in your position just a couple years ago." The boy held out the plate.

"My position?"

"You know…on the streets, no home, no job?" 

"I'm not homeless…" Alec gave an internal sigh of relief as he finally caught the sound of the train rattling down the tracks. "But…uh. Thanks. For the offer."

"Oh…uh. Sorry then."

The train arrived and Alec managed to get on a separate carriage, already attempting to delete the latest awkward encounter from his memory.

Maybe Magnus and his siblings were right.

 

1.  
The fifth time it happened, he was just going back to Magnus's place after a particularly difficult skirmish with some Eidolon demons. He was shirtless, with a barely healed set of claw marks on his back, and his favourite jacket had been burnt beyond repair. Clary had been concerned when he waved them off after the battle, but he'd shrugged her off, focused on getting back home. After all, he'd rest just as well (probably better, really) at Magnus's loft as back at the Institute. 

He was just limping out of the station when his glamour fizzled and gave out, leaving him visible in the middle of the street. With a sigh, he debated whether it would be faster to re apply the rune…probably not.

"Are you okay?" A woman, wrapped in a rainbow shawl with rainbow flags in her hair, stopped beside him, rummaging in her purse for something. "Were you mugged? Do you have some place to go?"

"I'm…uh…fine." Alec awkwardly tried to shuffle past.

"Well, here, I have a shirt from the rally today, although it might not fit you very well…" She held out a neon pink shirt. "Do you need some money? I think I have some cash on me somewhere…"

It dawned on Alec that she may have gotten the wrong impression. He waved his hands in front of himself awkwardly.

"I'm not… You don't need to…" He finally accepted the shirt she was insistently handing over. "I have a home."

"Were you mugged?" The woman is still looking at him skeptically, and he sighs, unrolling the shirt. It's probably a size too small and had printed on it in sparkly rainbow block letters _I'm not gay, but my boyfriend is_. He winced. She frowned at him and he sighed, pulling the shirt over his head.

"Um…Something like that…" Alec gestured past her. "I should really get home…"

"Oh, of course." She stepped out of his way, then paused, digging in her purse again. She pulled out a twenty dollar bill and pressed it into his hand with a kind smile. "Just in case your _home_ doesn't work out."

Alec tried to give the money back, but she'd already disappeared down the street. He groaned and tucked the twenty into his pocket as he headed down the street. Next time he saw an actual homeless person he'd hand over the money.

He got to Magnus's building quickly enough, pulling the spare key he'd been given out of his wallet to let himself in, trying to be as quiet as he could. Magnus was probably asleep by now, no need to wake him.

"Alexander." He felt a warm body press up against his back and turned, looking down at the warlock in surprise. Golden cat's eyes gleamed up at him and he sighed.

"I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't asleep." Magnus stepped back and clapped, the lights flickering on. "You know, that shirt would probably suit me better than you. What happened?"

"Eidolon demons." Alec shrugged awkwardly, pulling at the shirt.

"Well, I suppose at least you got a bit of colour for your wardrobe?" Magnus's raised eyebrow was amused.

"I didn't… there was a woman at the train station who caught me when my glamour fell…" Alec could feel a blush forming.

"Well, the colours suit you, darling, if not the words." Magnus grinned, leaning up to wrap his arms around Alec's neck, pulling a little to get him to bend down.


	2. +1

+1  
It was Simon's fault, really. They'd all been hanging out (well, Alec was there under protest), when the mundane (vampire) had knocked into Clary, who ended up spilling her drink on Jace's shirt. 

There wouldn't usually have been a problem with that…except that Jace had gotten on Magnus's nerves one too many times. So his entire wardrobe was currently covered in honey (Magnus had claimed it was because he wanted to support the bees and beekeepers in this environmental crisis. Alec was just glad his revenge hadn't included ducks). So Jace currently had no clean clothes.

"Why don't you just borrow something of Alec's?" Simon's suggestion seemed logical, at first.

"Have you seen some of his clothes?" Jace's face was a mask of disgust. "You'd think a gay guy would have better fashion sense."

"Now, now, don't project your stereotypes onto our brother." Isabelle rolled her eyes at Jace. "Just borrow one of his tshirts and stick that one in the wash. We're just going for dinner at Taki's, it'll be fine."

"I'm right here, guys." Alec frowned at them. His clothing was perfectly serviceable. It covered him fully, it was comfortable, and it kept him warm. Unlike some of Izzy's dresses. Or even some of Jace's outfits.

"Urgh. Fine." Jace didn't even acknowledge Alec's interjection, getting up to go steal one of his shirts instead. Simon winced at the annoyed look Alec shot at him.

They managed to leave with only a little fuss, Jace continuing to make faces and pick at the grey shirt he'd dug out of Alec's drawers. They were waiting in front of the restaurant when it happened.

"Do you have somewhere to go?" A concerned looking middle aged man was standing to the side of their group. "I have a care package and the name of a local shelter if you need it."

Everyone looked at Alec, who shrugged and stepped forward, but the man gestured at Jace, waving Alec off.

"I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" Jace stepped forward with a frown.

"Yea. Do you have a place to go?" The man held out a bag with a pair of socks hanging out. "I think I might have a couple dollars, too."

"I'm not homeless, dude." 

Izzy snickered, and Jace elbowed her.

"Oh." The man looked surprised. "Are you sure?"

Clary and Isabelle both broke out into giggles. Alec hid a smile.

"Yea. I have a home…" 

"Well then, sorry about that…" The man took back the bag, but held out a card instead. "Here's that address, just in case."

Jace was forced to take the address and nod politely, sighing in relief when the man finally turned the corner out of sight.

"I told you you needed nicer clothes." Izzy got out, pointing at Alec, before bursting into laughter, bracing herself on Simon's arm.

"It's okay, Jace." Clary consoled, visibly shaking in her efforts to restrain her own laughter.

Simon just snickered.

"Now you know why I didn't want to borrow his clothes." Jace kicked at the ground petulantly.

"Are we getting food or what?" Alec rolled his eyes at them all, starting down the street.

"We're- coming- just- hang- on." Izzy gasped out between snickers, jogging a little to catch up. "You have to admit, Alec, this has happened way to many times now to be a coincidence."

"…Maybe." Alec sighed as the others caught up.

"Will you let me and Magnus take you shopping now?" Isabelle bumped against his arm as they walked. Alec glanced down at his clothes. 

"Fine." He continued, interrupting her excited squealing. "But nothing too weird!"


End file.
